
Physical Design Lead, ASIC
Sunnyvale, CAJob$192–278K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
Most applications go out cold — see where you stand first. No sign-up to start.
You apply on the employer's site, with no Olive account needed.
Watch jobs like this. New roles like this one near Sunnyvale, CA, by email.
Don't just apply. Show up ready.
Olive works from this exact posting.
At a glance
Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.
Job overview
The Physical Design Lead will drive custom datapath and matrix multiplication accumulator implementation for Google TPU hardware, from RTL through GDSII and physical signoff. The role focuses on feasibility studies and performance, power, and area tradeoffs, while developing physical design methodologies for complex arithmetic pipelines. It also leads sub-chip execution and provides technical guidance and mentorship to a small engineering team.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Physical Design Lead, ASIC
Share Physical Design Lead, ASIC
corporate_fare Google place Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Advanced
Experience owning outcomes and decision making, solving ambiguous problems and influencing stakeholders; deep expertise in domain.
Share Physical Design Lead, ASIC
info_outline
XIn most instances, this position requires in-person interviews as part of the hiring process.
Minimum qualifications:
-
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
-
10 years of experience in physical design, including custom structured datapath implementation.
-
Experience hardening dense compute units (such as dot-product engines, multiplier-accumulator (MACs), multipliers, or arithmetic logic unit (ALUs) into high-frequency, low-power macros.
-
Experience in sub-7nm process nodes (including FinFET and Gate-All-Around architectures), managing the physical density and routing congestion typical of custom datapaths.
Preferred qualifications:
-
Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Computer Science, with focus on computer architecture.
-
Experience in structured placement methodologies (e.g., relative placement, data-flow driven layout, and customized power-grid stitching for dense blocks).
-
Experience with tools for logic synthesis, place and route, timing analysis, and design checks for physical and electrical quality; familiarity with tools for schematics, layout, and circuit/logic simulation.
-
Experience with physical design and timing, with managing PT-to-PnR timing correlations and metal-fill impacts on dense structures.
-
Expert-level scripting versatility (Tcl, Python, Perl) to build layout automation and structural constraints within standard EDA tools.
About the job
In this role, you’ll work to shape the future of AI/ML hardware acceleration. You will have an opportunity to drive cutting-edge TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) technology that powers Google's most demanding AI/ML applications. You’ll be part of a team that pushes boundaries, developing custom silicon solutions that power the future of Google's TPU. You'll contribute to the innovation behind products loved by millions worldwide, and leverage your design and verification expertise to verify complex digital designs, with a specific focus on TPU architecture and its integration within AI/ML-driven systems.
In this role, you will be empowering Google and our customers with breakthrough capabilities by delivering transformational, co-optimized silicon and technology leadership at scale.
The AI and Infrastructure team is redefining what’s possible. We empower Google customers with breakthrough capabilities and insights by delivering AI and Infrastructure at unparalleled scale, efficiency, reliability and velocity. Our customers include Googlers, Google Cloud customers, and billions of Google users worldwide.
We're the driving force behind Google's groundbreaking innovations, empowering the development of our cutting-edge AI models, delivering unparalleled computing power to global services, and providing the essential platforms that enable developers to build the future. From software to hardware our teams are shaping the future of world-leading hyperscale computing, with key teams working on the development of our TPUs, Vertex AI for Google Cloud, Google Global Networking, Data Center operations, systems research, and much more.
Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
US: $192000 - $278000 (USD) + 20% bonus target + equity + benefits
Learn more aboutbenefits at Google (https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/benefits/) .
Responsibilities
-
Own critical custom datapath and matrix multiplication accumulator blocks, driving execution from RTL-to-GDSII including synthesis, floor-planning, place and route (PNR), timing closure, and physical signoff.
-
Understand math-intensive micro-architecture to perform detailed feasibility studies, analyzing performance, power, and area (PPA) tradeoffs to achieve optimal design closure.
-
Develop and improve advanced physical design methodologies and customize implementation recipes, specifically optimizing PPA across complex arithmetic pipeline structures. Manage different PNR tools - synopsys fusion compiler, cadence (Innovus/Genus), PrimeTime, StarRC, Calibre, Apache Redhawk.
-
Implement and execute key design phases: floor-planning, synthesis, placement, clock tree synthesis (CTS), timing closure, routing, extraction, physical verification (design rule checking (DRC)/layout versus schematic (LVS), electromigration (EM)/IR, and final signoff.
-
Lead sub-chip execution and drive delivery, providing direct technical guidance and mentorship to a small team of engineers to ensure on-schedule project completion.
Information collected and processed as part of your Google Careers profile, and any job applications you choose to submit is subject to Google'sApplicant and Candidate Privacy Policy (./privacy-policy) .
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. We are committed to building a workforce that is representative of the users we serve, creating a culture of belonging, and providing an equal employment opportunity regardless of race, creed, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, marital status, pregnancy or related condition (including breastfeeding), expecting or parents-to-be, criminal histories consistent with legal requirements, or any other basis protected by law. See alsoGoogle's EEO Policy (https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/eeo/) ,Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal (https://careers.google.com/jobs/dist/legal/EEOC\_KnowYourRights\_10\_20.pdf) ,Belonging at Google (https://about.google/belonging/) , andHow we hire (https://careers.google.com/how-we-hire/) .
If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing ourAccommodations for Applicants form (https://goo.gl/forms/aBt6Pu71i1kzpLHe2) .
Google is a global company and, in order to facilitate efficient collaboration and communication globally, English proficiency is a requirement for all roles unless stated otherwise in the job posting.
To all recruitment agencies: Google does not accept agency resumes. Please do not forward resumes to our jobs alias, Google employees, or any other organization location. Google is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Equity is granted exclusively and discretionarily by Alphabet Inc. on the basis of an agreement concluded between you and Alphabet Inc. Alphabet Inc. is your sole contractual partner with respect to equity grants. GSU grants are not guaranteed, are discretionary, are subject to approval by the Alphabet Inc. board of directors or its delegate, the terms of the relevant Alphabet Inc. stock plan, and your grant agreement. They have no impact on statutory payments. Current or past grants do not confer an acquired right.
Google is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. See also https://careers.google.com/eeo/ and https://careers.google.com/jobs/dist/legal/OFCCP_EEO_Post.pdf If you have a need that requires accommodation, please let us know by completing our Accommodations for Applicants form: https://goo.gl/forms/aBt6Pu71i1kzpLHe2.
How this job compares
Set against the 957 open Hardware Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$192–278K/yr
- California median$172–245K/yr226 salary ranges
- US median$146–245K/yr662 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $235K, is 12% above the California median midpoint ($209K) — in the top quarter of Hardware Engineering salary ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 348 open Hardware Engineering jobs in California and 957 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- Apple35 open
- Cisco25 open
- Anduril Industries22 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 10 years of experience; Hardware Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 7 years at the median (614 postings).
- Education
- 345 of the 957 open Hardware Engineering jobs (36%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
Prepare for this role
You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.

